Brandi Carlile is making her MMR & ATO debut with The Firewatcher’s Daughterher first album since 2012′s Billboard Top 10 hit Bear Creek. Get an insider look at what inspired the songs and stories of the record with her curated Spotify playlist. Watch Brandi and her songwriting partners Tim and Phil Hanseroth (the twins) in the understated performance video for ‘The Eye’. Acclaimed songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and one seventh of Old Crow Medicine Show, Gill Landry has released his self-titled solo record. Recorded in what he calls, “a ramshackle, shanty-ass apartment on the south side of Nashville.” the album featuring contributions from songstress Laura Marling, guitarist Robert Ellis, trumpeter Nick Etwell of Mumford & Sons and Odessa Jorgensen who lends harmonies and fiddle to a number of tunes.

Sound & Color – the follow-up to Alabama Shakes‘ Gold-certified debut album, Boys & Girls, which earned the group three GRAMMY® nominations, including a nod for Best New Artist – will be released on April 21 by ATO Records and MapleMusic Recordings.

Sound & Color demonstrates the tremendous strides made by Alabama Shakes since the release of 2012′s Boys & Girls. From the gently swaying, chiming title song to the garage-rock freak-out on “The Greatest” to the psychedelic space jam “Gemini,” Alabama Shakes build on the soulful blues-rock base and map a surprising, innovative new direction.

“We took our time to write this record, and I’m really glad we did,” says lead singer/guitarist Brittany Howard. “We were able to sit down and think about what’s exciting to us. This record is full of genre-bending songs.”

Sound & Color was recorded at Nashville’s Sound Emporium studio. The band co-produced the album with Blake Mills - a young guitar wizard who has helmed sessions by Sara Watkins and Sky Ferreira, and played alongside everyone from Norah Jones and The Dixie Chicks to Lana Del Ray and Kid Rock.

Two Gallants’ Adam Stephens (guitar, harmonica, keyboard and vocals) and Tyson Vogel (drums, guitar and vocals) spent one month recording their 5th album ‘We Are Undone’ with Karl Derfler (Tom Waits) at Panoramic House in Northern California. The duo is set to play four Canadian dates this April, full tour dates and tickets can be found here. ‘Afraid of Ghosts’ the latest release from Georgia native Butch Walkercomes four years after his last album ‘Spade’. Watch the video for his latest single ‘Bed On Fire’ here.

The new self-titled record from acclaimed singer, songwriter and performer Gill Landry will be released March 3 on MapleMusic Recordings and ATO Records. Landry’s illustrious career as a multi-instrumentalist and songwriting member of the Grammy-Award winning band Old Crow Medicine Show includes a recent induction into the Grand Ole Opry, performances on “A Prairie Home Companion” & “Austin City Limits,” and world tours with featured stops at major festivals including Bonnaroo, Coachella, and the Newport Folk Festival.

The 10-track album was fully produced and mostly engineered by Landry and recorded in what he calls, “a ramshackle, shanty-ass apartment on the south side of Nashville.” Contributors include various friends and musicians Landry gathered on his non-stop travels alone and with Old Crow including songstress Laura Marling who duets on “Take This Body,” singer-songwriter and guitarist Robert Ellis, trumpeter Nick Etwell of Mumford & Sons and Odessa Jorgensen who lends harmonies and fiddle to a number of tunes. Continue reading…

As 2014 winds down, ATO Records/MapleMusic Recordings is proud to offer you this sampler featuring tracks from ATO’s many critically acclaimed releases this year, including Benjamin Booker’s self-titled debut and Hurray For The Riff Raff’s Small Town Heroes.

The sampler also includes previews from albums by Brandi Carlile and Two Gallants, which will help get the new year off to an exciting start.

Please enjoy this wonderful collection of songs. Everyone at ATO Records wishes you a safe and happy holiday season!

“Some of [the songs] rattle the floorboards; others are quieter, offering beautiful harmonies or rich storytelling. But no matter what they sound like, the songs on this release feel like rock and roll.”– Ann Powers, NPR Music

Brandi Carlile will make her independent label debut on ATO/MapleMusic March 3, 2015 with the release of ‘The Firewatcher’s Daughter.’ The 12-song album explodes with energy, urgency and pristine harmonies and represents the start of a fresh chapter for Carlile and her longtime collaborators Tim and Phil Hanseroth, also known as “The Twins.”

‘The Firewatcher’s Daughter’ was recorded almost entirely as first takes without any demoing and little rehearsal before gathering at Bear Creek Studio in Washington State.

The result is immediate and electrifying. ‘The Eye,’ a song influenced by Crosby, Stills and Nash, is so intimate and hushed you can hear the quiver of Brandi’s voice in a flawless 3-part harmony. Lead-off track and first single ‘Wherever Is Your Heart’ captures a fiery intensity.

Two Gallants‘ forthcoming fifth album, ‘We Are Undone,’ will be available worldwide February 3 on ATO Records/MapleMusic Recordings. The title track is available as a free instant download with LP/CD album pre-orders at www.twogallants.com and iTunes.

The new LP is their second full-length release on ATO/MMR following 2012′s ‘The Bloom and The Blight.’ Two Gallants will be playing select shows at intimate venues in New York and San Francisco in February with a full European tour to follow. Additional U.S. tour dates in April to be announced soon.

Drive-By Truckers have released the Black Ice Vérité deluxe edition accompaniment to their most acclaimed album in years English Oceans. Featuring an additional 8 tracks with a trio of acoustic recordings from their Bannaroo performance along with new, old, and recreated tracks from this years HeAthens Homecoming Weekend at the 40 Watt Club in the band’s hometown of Athens, GA. The DVD contains footage from their 40 Watt Club performance. Vinyl copies of Black Ice Vérité are pressed on white vinyl and packaged with new artwork, seen below.

New Orleans rocker plays Lee’s Palace in Toronto March 31 and Corona Theatre in Montreal April 1

“A flashback to the days when wild-eyed young guitar-slingers made the most dangerous dance music around.”– Rolling Stone

Following his first ever headline tour, Benjamin Booker has confirmed a run of North American dates this Spring, playing even larger venues. The tour stops in Toronto March 31 at Lee’s Palace and in Montreal on April 1 at the Corona Theatre. Full dates are below, and all will go on sale Friday Nov 14.

On the third self-titled album from LA hardcore outfit The Bronx‘s alter ego Mariachi el Bronx the band ditched the rulebook and dusted off old sequencers, synths and an ARP. The 10 striking songs – featuring singles ‘New Beat’ and ‘Wildfires’ - that resulted fuse traditional melodies with modern ambience. Watch the day-glo-orange coloured vinyl of (III) getting pressed to match the psychedelic cover art here.

The original Primus lineup makes their studio album return for the first time in 19 years on their new release ‘Primus & The Chocolate Factory.’ This tribute to the 1971 Willy Wonka movie features deep reworks of the influential and distinctive tunes. Five vinyl copies of the album will feature gold coloured vinyl and free lifetime tickets to Primus concerts, watch records get pressed in the promo video here. See the full list of special album tour dates here. Cold War Kids have released their 5th studio album ‘Hold My Home‘produced by guitarist Dann Gallucci and Lars Stalfors. Vocalist Nathan Willet describes the album with lyrics from its title track: “You’ve moved every year or two since you were 18. Home is no longer an actual place you return to. It’s ephemeral; it’s where you go in your memory to recall friends, your identity, your version of family. You can’t touch or hold on to it, but you can feel home anywhere. But where are your roots?” Watch the video for the first single “All This Could Be Yours” or the anthemic follow up “First.”

The definitive Primus line-up - Les Claypool, guitarist Larry LaLonde, and drummer Tim Alexander - is back together and set to release their first full-length studio set in nearly 20 years, ‘Primus & the Chocolate Factory,’ due out on ATO Records / MapleMusic Recordings on October 21.

“The idea was to combine the Frog Brigade and Primus, and do this record,’ says Claypool. I think like a good portion of the planet, we were all pretty put off by the remake of the ‘Willy Wonka’ movie – the Tim Burton version. I really wanted to pay homage to a film [1971's 'Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,' starring Gene Wilder] that was very important to me as a kid and very influential to me musically. So that’s what we did. And as opposed to just going in and recording the songs and playing them the way they are in the film, we twisted them up a bit…twisted them up a lot.” Listen to classic track ‘Pure Imagination’ re-imagined, which Rolling Stone premiered in July

It felt so good, in fact, Claypool decided to take Primus into the studio to prepare the soundtrack for an album release. Claypool admits he’s always, “in some way, wanted to be Willy Wonka,” and, also, that he’s always wanted to work a cover of ‘The Candy Man’ – a memorable number from the film’s soundtrack — into Primus sets. “Hell, I’ve been doing the line from the boat ride on stage since the ’80′s,” then Les sings, “There’s no earthly way of knowing, which direction we are going…”

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage (Canada Music Fund) Nous reconnaissons l'appui financier du gouvernement du Canada par l'entremise du ministère du Patrimoine canadien (Canada Music Fund)

Produced with the Assistance of the MuchFACT (A Foundation to Assist Canadian Talent)
PromoFACT Award Program, Supported by the MuchMore Network.